


Wretched, Damning Moon

by Morgyn Leri (morgynleri)



Series: Tarnished Silver [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dark, Blood and Gore, GFY, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2014-12-11
Packaged: 2018-03-01 00:44:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2753285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morgynleri/pseuds/Morgyn%20Leri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Hermione killed someone, she was fourteen years old.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wretched, Damning Moon

**Author's Note:**

> Please heed the warnings in the tags. The major character death is on screen, and the blood and gore, while mild, is still there and visible.

The first time Hermione killed someone, she was fourteen years old, wand clenched so tightly in one hand her knuckles were white, and a silver knife in the other held hard enough to make her bones ache. Glaring at the body sprawled at her feet, her heart still pounded, loud as her own harsh panting to her ears. It was the only sound in the forest now, save a faint rattling creak from the werewolf.

Dropping to her knees in the damp soil, she drove the knife down, again and again until the blade was too mangled to do any good. The air stunk of copper and burnt fur, and her clothes clung to her - damp with sweat, she hoped, rather than blood. She was certain the werewolf was dead this time, and yet all she saw - still - was the snarling visage of what had once been her favorite of the three DADA professors she'd had in the three years she'd been at Hogwarts.

If Professor Snape hadn't been there, if they hadn't been close enough to the castle, if it had been anyone other than herself and Ron - if Harry had been there - she didn't know what might have happened.

Letting out a strangled cry, she lunged away from the body, on her hands and knees as her stomach heaved, despite having nothing to retch up save bile. Hermione panted, gritting her teeth against the urge to vomit again. If this was what the Hat had meant when she would have done well in Gryffindor, she wanted nothing more of it. Having her friends in danger made her a fool, even if she was a prepared fool.

"Hermione!" She recognized the voice, but didn't move in case that encouraged her stomach to rebel again. Warm hands gripped her shoulders, and she was slowly eased back against a warm chest, arms and a cloak soon wrapped around her. "It's ok, we're here."

Blinking, Hermione looked around, feeling tremors starting to shake her as she met the gaze of first Ron, then Neville, then Millicent, and finally, raised her head high enough to look into Professor Snape's black eyes. She had no regret for what she had done, though perhaps if she ever did something so bloody foolish and Gryffindor-esque again, she'd bring her friends with her.

Well. She'd bring Ron with her, at any rate. Harry was too important to risk, and too much of a trouble-magnet beside, even when he was trying to stay out of trouble. She won't risk him, won't ever risk him if she can avoid doing so.

"Burn the body." Her throat felt raw, and her voice cracked a little on the last word, but she managed to get the words out before she was shaking too badly to speak. Harry's arms are almost feverishly warm around her, and his voice seemed to be muffled as he murmured in her ear. Shock. She was going into shock.

Her heart still pounded, blood roaring even louder in her ears, and Hermione let her head loll back against Harry's shoulder. There were stars just visible through the trees, the leaves blocking enough of the bright moonlight - full moon, a changing moon, a wretched, damning moon - to let her see them. Hermione could hear laughter, and it took a moment to identify as her own, breathless and shaky.

"Here." She wasn't certain how Snape was suddenly right there, but Hermione rolled her head to one side to watch him. He was holding a potions vial, letting her see the seal as he broke it before he held it to her lips. A calming draught, maybe, or something else, she didn't care. "Drink, Granger."

She gulped it down obediently, feeling as if fire were burning down her for a moment before the warmth became something more soothing. She turned her head again, twisting in Harry's arms so she could cling to him, and hide her face. His neck was warm against her forehead, and slightly damp with sweat, and the space under the cloak smelled of dirt and blood and bitter herbs, but it was better than facing the outside world at the moment.

Too soon, she would have to pull away, and stand up, and walk up to the school. They would have to clean up, and lie about where they were, and burn their clothes and destroy the knife she'd used to kill the werewolf. Hermione wasn't certain how she would face tomorrow, but she would find a way. She was a Ravenclaw. Finding solutions to puzzles was what she did best.

"You don't have to do it alone, Hermione." Harry's voice was quiet in her ear, his arms warm around her. "We'll do this together."

That was why she was friends with a Slytherin, even when it made others look at her twice. That was why she had been willing to give Ron a second chance, even though he'd been a prat. Hermione let out another shaky laugh, feeling it more than hearing it.

Everyone had told her Harry couldn't be trusted because he was a Slytherin, that Snape was evil, that Millicent was nothing more than a stupid bully. They'd told her Ron was too reckless to make a good friend, and Neville too timid.

Everyone had said Professor Lupin was the best DADA professor in years. That he was kind and generous, and perhaps a little sickly, but a good man.

"Everyone was wrong." Her voice sounded childish to her ears. "It was the good professor who tried to kill, and the evil one who saved us all."


End file.
